North Korean side wins in South to reach final

A team of North Korean footballers who made history by crossing the border into South Korea earned a victory to take them into the Asian Women's Champions League final.

Naegohyang won 2-1 in their semi-final against South Korea's Suwon - with emotional scenes at the final whistle, as several of the victorious players sobbed with joy.

The match marked the first time athletes from the north have visited the south since 2018.

Second-half goals from Choe Kum-ok and Kim Kyong-yong won the game, following Haruhi Suzuki's 49th-minute opener for Suwon, and sent Naegohyang to the final in their first year in the competition.

Suwon were awarded a penalty late in the semi-final after a video assistant referee review, but former Chelsea captain Ji So-yun put her effort wide.

"We believed in our team's ability," said Naegohyang's Choe.

"Every player's role is important, but things didn't go well for us in the first half.

"Once we got into the second half, we found our rhythm and I think the game flowed much better for us."

North Korean athletes had not crossed the border since the Pyeongchang Winter ‌Olympics eight years ago, when they formed a unified ice hockey team for the first time.

Officially, there were no away supporters at Wednesday's game - which sold out within hours last week - because of travel restrictions between the North and South.

A large group of spectators from civic groups backed by Seoul's unification ministry were in the stadium to support both teams, although they were mostly silent.

South Korea's Unification Minister Chund Dong-young said the game would set a "positive precedent" for inter-Korean relations.

The two Koreas are technically still at war after failing to sign a peace treaty when the Korean War ended in 1953.

Attempts have been made to improve relations since, but ties between the two countries have deteriorated in recent years, with North Korea labelling South Korea its "most hostile state" and saying it would no longer seek reunification.

South Korean ⁠President Lee Jae Myung, however, is seeking to improve ​ties.

Naegohyang's 27 players and 12 staff members will stay in the South for the final on Saturday, 23 May, against Japan's Tokyo Verdy Beleza at the same stadium.